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A. HISTORY 


Of THE 



PRACTICALLY ILLUSTRATED: 


WITH A DESCRIPTION OF SOIL, CLIMATE, ETC. 


yr 

BY CHARLES J. MURPHY. 


/ 6 

ILOS 



SPIRITS OP CHAMPAGNE. 


The crystal juice opes all man’s heart, 
Of hidden thought the secret mine, 
All grief and sorrow soon depart, 

For man is blessed with joyous wine. 


Iltto fnirk: 

OAK SMITH & COMPANY, 8TEAM PRINTERS, 


112 and 114 William Street. 


1859 . 


ti 






























































TO THE READER. 


It has often occurred to the writer during the last fifteen 
years, while engaged in the manufacture of Champagne 
wine, that a few pages devoted to its history might not be 
uninteresting to his many patrons, and to the public generally, 
gained as it is by quoting from the best authors, and by per¬ 
sonal observation, having visited the most extensive Cham¬ 
pagne establishments in the world for the purpose of perfect¬ 
ing himself in the art of manufacturing it, and having, 
through the kindness of Messrs. Ruinart, pere et fils, Chas. 
Heidsick and M. Thierry, Esqs., of Rheims, and Mr. Kunkel- 
man, of the firm of H. Piper Co., at Epernay, witnessed 
the different processes of making Champagne, in all its 
branches, he cannot let this opportunity pass without return¬ 
ing them his warmest thanks for their genuine hospitality, 
bestowed on him, a stranger, and his thanks are also due to 
his New York friends, Messrs. E. Caylus De Ruyter <fe Co., 
T. W. Bayaud & Co., C. Melletta and E. Lamontagne, Esqrs., 
who kindly gave him letters of introduction to the above- 
named houses, to whose instrumentality he is indebted for 
much knowledge regarding the manufacture of Champagne. 
Hoping his readers will pardon thh\slight digression from the 
subject in point, he will close by proving to them that a supe¬ 
rior Champagne can he made in this country, providing the gen 
nine still wine from the Champagne districts of France is used. 
Hoping that the following pages may not prove wholly unin 
teresting to his many patrons, he concludes by subscribing 
himself. Yours, respectfully, 

CHARLES J. MURPHY. 

* * The reader is referred to J. M.'\s circular in the end of 

Tv 

t he pamphlet. 



/ 




A 




V 

* 








/ 






i 


» 




/ 






» 







CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


Champagne wine, although indubitably a factitious article, 
holds in the estimation of wine-drinkers, physicians, and con¬ 
noisseurs, a high place in the catalogue of beverages, its 
sparkling qualities and agreeable sweetness attracting the 
first, its diuretic and tonic properties rendering it valuable to 
the second, and its delicate flavor, delightful aroma, and 
refreshing bouquet endearing it to the third. But from the 
fact of its being a manufactured wine, there has been an 
attempt to throw around it a mantle of mystery, which I 
have never, in my mind, been able to penetrate satisfactorily, 
either by reading the numerous books written on the subject, 
or by conversing with intelligent persons from the immediate 
locality. This mystery has been carefully fostered by persons 
interested in the manufacture or sale of the article, who, fearing* 
the truth might possibly lessen the demand, when asked as to 
the modus operomdi , have generally either flatly denied the 
addition of sugar and brandy, or if admitting it, asserted that 
it was only done occasionally, when, in consequence of a cold 
or wet season, the produce of any particular vintage did not 
possess sufficient saccharine matter or body,but on no account 
would they acknowledge this addition to be a matter of rule, 
and in fact necessity. This version has been handed down 
from one author to the other until finally it has grown into a 
belief, and as every other detail of the mode of manufac¬ 
turing this wine has been clearly described by almost every 
writer on the subject, the only originality I can claim for my 
paper is the dissipation, in some degree, of this mystery, and 
the verification of another point, which, until this moment, 
has been denied, in some cases most emphatically, namely: 
that the produce of different localities are intermixed. To 
enable me, however, to do this understanding^, it will be 
necessary to travel lightly over the same ground as my pre¬ 
decessors, trusting, also, that among my readers there may be 
some not as “ learned in the lore ” of wine-making as others. 



6 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


The wines for which the ancient province of Champagne is 
celebrated, rank first in excellence among those oi France. 
By forming France into departments, Champagne is now 
divided between the departments of the Ardennes, the Marne, 
the Aube, and the Haut-Marne. The wines produced there 
long disputed the palm of excellence with those of Burgundy. 
Gout had been attributed to their use by certain French phy¬ 
sicians. The school of medicine entered, about 1G52, into a 
warm discussion on the respective merits of the two species, 
and, though the public had settled the question long before, 
did not pronounce in favor ot the wines of Champagne until 
1778, about one hundred and twenty-eight years after the dis¬ 
pute commenced. 

In 1328, Rheims wine bore a price of ten livres only, while 
Beaune fetched twenty-eight. In 1559, at the coronation of 
Francis II., Rheim wines were dearer than Burgundy; but the 
wines of the Lyonnais carried a still higher price. In 1561, 
these wines had risen in price. In 1571 they were nearly 
eight times increased beyond their former value. Champagne 
reached its present perfection and estimation about 1610, at 
the coronation of Louis XIII. The oldest anecdote which the 
French possess relative to the excellence of Rheims wine, 
dates as far back as 1397, when Vincesilaus, King of Bohemia 
and the Romans, on coming to France to negotiate a treaty 
with Charles VI., arrived at Rheims, and having tasted the 
wine of Champagne, it is to be presumed for the first time, 
spun out his diplomatic errand to the longest possible moment, 
and then gave up all that was required of him, in order to 
prolong his stay, getting drunk on Champagne daily before 
dinner. It is said that Francis I., of France, Pope Leo X., 
Charles V., of Spain, and Henry VIII., of England, had each 
of them a vineyard at A} 7 , their own property, and on each 
vineyard a small house occupied by a superintendant. Thus 
the genuine article was secured by each sovereign for his own 
table. If this be true, it shows pretty accurately the length 
of time that Champagne wine has been in esteem. The vine¬ 
yards on the banks of the Marne are those which possess the 
highest character, producing most of the wine known by the 
general term of Champagne in other countries. The wines 
are divided into those of the river and of the mountain, the 
former being for the most part white. In a climate so far 
north, these and other French wines bear remarkable evidence 
of human industry. In the South, Nature does everything, 
and man is idle. In the North, man is the diligent cultivator, 
and he is rewarded in the deserved superiority of his produce 
and the estimation it justly holds. 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


T 


Champagne wines are further divided into sparkling ( mom- 
seux), demi-sparkling ( cremans or demi-mousseux), and still 
wines (mn mousseux). Some are white or straw-colour, others 
grey, others rose-color, and some are red. They are of a 
light quality in spirit, the average of alcohol in Champagne 
wine in general, according to Mr. Brande, being but 12-61 
per cent. 

The entire quantity of wine made in Champagne of all 
kinds varies with the season ; but the average may be taken 
at 1,560,687 hectolitres, or 40,968,033£ gallons, from 55,540 
hectares, or 138,870 acres of vines.* The department of the 
Marne is that in which the most famous of these wines are 
made. There are 19,066 hectares of land devoted to the vine 
in the department, though some say above 20,000, and of this 
number 110 are situated in the arondissement of Chalons sur 
Marne; 6856 in that of Epernay; 425 in that of St. Mene- 
hould; 9029 in that of Rheims ; and 2646 in that of Vitry sur 
Marne. The quantity^ of wine made in the whole department 
is 422,487 hectolitres, and the value about 11,235,397 francs; 
of this sum nearly four-fifths in value are made in the arron- 
dissements of Epernay and Rheims. Each hectare gives from 
28 to 30 hectolitres. The produce has increased of late years 
from the improved mode of cultivation. The quantity ex¬ 
ported from the department is of the best kind, and amounts 
to about 103,043 hectolitres annually; the residue is distilled 
or consumed by the inhabitants. The best red wines are sold 
in Belgium and the Rhenish provinces. The Sillery goes to 
Paris and to England, and the sparkling wines, not only over 
France, but the entire civilized world. For England this 
wine is made more spirituous than that for export to other 
countries, and it is valued here in proportion to its extreme 
effervescence in place of the contrary, which, as all judges of 
the wine allow, is best recommendatory of it. That which 
gently sends up the gas in sparkles is to be preferred, and the 
finest of all is the still vin du roi. 

The vintage of 1832 gave 480,000 hectolitres, viz., 50,000 in 
white sparkling or still, 310,000 common red of middling qual¬ 
ity, and 120,000 choice red. 

* The vintage of 1834 , which was large and good, gave for Verzenay 3000 
casks ; Yerzy and Villers-Marraery, 1500 ; Rilly, Chigny, and Ludes, 1000 ; 
Bouzy, 1000 ; Arabonnay, 1000 ; Ay, 10,000 ; Mareuil and Aoenay, 3000 ; Haut- 
Villiers, Dizy, and Curaieres, 4000 ; Epernay, 4000 ; Pierry. 4000 ; Moussy, 2500 ; 
Ckouilly, 1500 ; Cramant, 2000 ; Avize, 8000 ; Oger and Men'll, 16,000 ; Vertus. 
2000 total 64,500 casks, containing 220 bottles each ; making, in quantity, 
14 , 190.000 bottles. According to the estimate of the number of bottles which 
could be procured, it appeared that when this vintage came to be lottled, there 
would be a great deficiency 



ON CHAMPAGNE WINE, 


8 


The annual consumption of Champagne wine in France 
was estimated at 626,000 bottles in 1836, but the quantity was 
thought to be on the decline. The export was then reported 
to be, to England and the East Indies, 467,000 bottles ; Ger¬ 
many, 479,000 ; United States, 400,000 ; Russia, 280,000 ; and 
Sweden and Denmark, 30,000. 

The mean price in the arondissements of Chalons, St. Me- 
nehould, and Vitry, which are inferior kinds, is about sixteen 
frrnes the hectolitre ; those of Vitry bring twenty francs ; St. 
Menehould fifteen ; and Chalons about twelve. 

Though in the United States most people understand by 
Champagne only wine which effervesces, this, as we have 
seen, is an error. There are many kinds of Champagne wine, 
but the best are those which froth slightly. They are im¬ 
proved in the drinking by ice, which tends to repress the effer¬ 
vescence; the Sillery lias no sparkle at all. Every connoisseur 
in Champagne will select wine of moderate effervescence, and 
such wine always carries the best price. When the glass is 
entirely filled with froth, on pouring out the contents of tho 
bottle, the better qualities of the wine and spirit evaporate. 
The quantity of spirit in Champagne, as we have seen, is but 
small, and the residue is a flat meagre fluid. 

There is an exquisite delicacy about the wines of Cham¬ 
pagne, which is more sensible to the foreigner than that which 
distinguishes the richest kind of Burgundy to the taste of the 
French amateur. The French have terms for distinguishing 
different qualities in their wines, some of which cannot be 
translated; but the term “delicate ,5 or “fine,” as applied to 
the wines of Champagne, the peculiar “aroma,” which remains 
in the mouth after tasting them, together with the “ bouquet,” 
which is understood alone of the perfume, applying to the 
sense of smell, are terms pretty intelligible to Americans, who 
are drinkers of French wines. 

It is on the banks of the Marne that the best effervescing 
wines are made, or, to follow the French designation, in “ the 
vineyards of the river.” We have already noted the general 
divisions of river and mountain (vines, which are of some an¬ 
tiquity in characterising the wines of this part of France. 
The French further divide this district, or vine-ground of 
Rhiems, into four general divisions, namely, the river vineyard 
district, that of the mountain of Rheims, that of the estate 
of St. Thierry, and that of the valleys of Norrois and Tarde- 
nois. There are, moreover, one or two other spots which do 
not come into these divisions : one of them is on the side of 
a hill north-east of Rheims. 

The river district is situated on a calcareous declivity, open 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


9 


to the south, at the foot of which runs the Marne, from Bis- 
seuii to the borders of the department of the Aisne. The 
chalk abounds here mingled with stones in the uppermost soil. 
The vines are as closely planted as possible. On this declivity 
comes first in order the vineground of Ay, which produces on an 
average, year by year, about 4320 hectolitres of red wine, 
valued at sixty francs the hectolitre, and 3392 hectolitres of 
white wine, at one hundred and thirty; also the vineyards of 
Mareuil and Dizy, yielding 3220 hectolitres of red, at forty 
francs, and 1970 of white wine, at one hundred and ten. 
These are the districts which produce Champagne wines of 
the very first quality known. They are light and delicate, 
vinous, of the most agreeable taste, and preserve to a great 
age their virtues and effervescence. When these wines are 
destitute of the sparkling quality, they rival those of Sillery, 
as still Champagne, and are frequently preferred to Sillery, 
because they are lighter and more luscious. The red wines 
of this quarter also keep well. It yet remains to account for 
certain differences in wine of adjoining vineyards met with 
here, with apparently the same soil and exposure. 

The next vine lands of this district in rank are those of 
Cumieres and Hautvilliers, which yield about 7130 hectolitres 
of red wine of the second quality, at fifty francs. Hautvil¬ 
liers was the spot where Father Perignon, a Benedictine, first, 
introduced the mixing grapes of different qualities in making 
these wines. This wine resembles that of the hilly district 
of Kheiins in lightness and delicacy, but will not keep to so 
great an age. In warm seasons it reaches maturity the first 
year. Formerly, white wine made at Hautvilliers rivalled 
that of Ay, but of late the manufacture has ceased, in conse¬ 
quence of the division of the property on which the wines 
were produced ; the greater part of the vine lands which 
grew the finest qualities having got into the handsjof wine¬ 
makers who have changed the character of the vine's. That 
of a spot called la Cotea-bras has still a reputation. Some 
proprietors there who have preserved the old kind ol vine 
still make an excellent white wine. All the other wines of 
the river are common, and fetch in the market, on the average, 
only from twenty-five to forty francs. 

The mountain or hilly district of Rlieims is at the back of 
the preceding acclivity, and its slope is much less steep than 
that towards the river. The soil is of the same calcareous 
description. The prices, however, differ with the reputation 
of the vine} T ards. The aspect is east and north. The first 
vine lands are those of Bouzy and Ambonnav, producing 2100 
hectolitres, either of red or white wine at pleasure, at about 


10 


OX CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


one hundred and fifty francs the hectolitre. Next come the 
vineyards of Yerzenay, Sillery, Mailly, and Verzy, producing 
2832 hectolitres of the same kind of wines, at one hundred 
and thirty francs. 

It is here that the best red wines of Champagne are pro¬ 
duced. They have good body, are spirituous, fine, and keep 
their qualities to an advanced age. The red wines of Bouzy 
approach in bouquet the best wines of Burgundy. 

It is from this district that the exquisite white still Cham¬ 
pagne, called Sillery is produced. The vineyard is not more 
than fifty arpents in extent, yielding six casks of two hundred 
and ten bottles each arpent. The hill on which it stands has 
an eastern aspect. This wine has more body, is more spiritu¬ 
ous than any other white Champagne wine, and is distinguished 
by a dry and agreeable taste. It is grown principally on the 
lands of Yerzenay and Mailly, of the blackest grape, of which 
also the grey bright wine, having the complexion of crystal, 
is made. It is to be lamented that of late, owing to the 
changes of property there, they have planted white grapes, 
that make a very inferior wine, which will not keep halt as 
long. The name of Sillery was given to the wine from that 
of the soil; after a marquis who improved it, the wine was 
also styled vin de la Marecliale. Very little is now produced 
in the commune of Sillery, which covers a considerable space 
of ground. The grape is subjected for making this wine to a 
less pressure than for red wine,’and it is kept longer in wood 
than the other sorts generally are, or about three years. The 
quantity made differs every year, according to the orders re¬ 
ceived for it. It is chiefly manufactured for the wine mer¬ 
chants, who buy the proper grape from the proprietors of the 
vineyards, in proportion to the demand made on them for 
export. It is, perhaps, the most durable, as well as wholesome 
to drink of all the wines of Champagne, the fermentation 
being more perfect than that of any other species. 

The second class of wines is generally valued at fifty francs, 
while there are others, such as those of Yille Dommange, 
which are only worth from twenty-five to thirty francs the 
hectolitre on the spot. They are made from the vineyards of 
Ambonnay, Ludes, Chigny, Hilly, Villers-Allerand, and Trois- 
Puits, and in quantity produce about 9408 hectolitres. These 
wines are some of them of tolerable quality, and are mostly 
sold to foreigners. The rest of the wines of the mountain 
district are ordinary wines, bringing only from thirty to forty 
francs the hectolitre, and some only fifteen and twenty. 

The third Champagne district, or that of St. Thierry, pro¬ 
duces 6592 hectolitres of delicate wines, bearing prices from 



ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


11 


thirty to sixty francs, and some ordinary sorts as low as 
twenty. 

The fourth district, namely, the valleys of Norrois and Tar- 
denois, as well as that of the hill-side near Rheims, produces 
only common red wines, the best of which sell from twenty- 
five to thirty francs the hectolitre. 

In all the distinguished vineyards of Champagne, as, for 
example, in the river district of Av, Mareuil, Dizy, Hautvilliers, 
and Cumieres; and at Bouzy, Verzy, Verzenay, Mailly, in the 
mountain, as well as in many other of the vine lands, they 
cultivate the black grape, which is called the “golden plant” 
(plant dore ), being a variety of the vine called pinet and red 
and white pineau. Crescenzio, who wrote in the thirteenth 
century, speaks of a vine near Milan, called pignolns, which 
was probably of the same species, especially as an ordinance 
of the Louvre, of the date of 1394, places the pinoz, as then 
called, above all the common species of vine. The product of 
the white grape produces a very inferior wine to that from the 
foregoing fruit. It seems at first singular that the blackest 
grape should produce wine of the purest white colour, grey, 
or straw ; but such is, nevertheless, the fact. The price of 
the vine land differs much. It is greatly subdivided ; there 
are vineyards not exceeding the tenth of an arpent in size. 
Some productive land will not bring forty pounds per acre, 
English, on sale, while spots have been known to sell for eight 
hundred, which have yielded seven hundred and fifty bottles 
the acre. The expenses of cultivation at Ay, a small town on 
the right bank of the Marne, a little above Epernay, remark¬ 
able for the delicacy of its wines, are from GOO francs to 900 
francs per hectare. The selling price of vineyards averages 
about 5000 francs,—the highest has been 24,000 ; the lowest 
2,500 francs. These wines are grown in a southern exposure 
upon a range of chalk hills, on the mid elevation of which 
the best vines are produced. The number of vine proprie¬ 
tors in the arrondissement of Rheims is 11,903; for the whole 
department they are not less than 22,500. The produce may 
average in the districts most noted from 440 to about 540 gal¬ 
lons, English, per acre, sometimes producing 660. But it is 
well known that certain spots in this department have given 
1000 gallon the English acre. 

The still wines of Epernay,both red and white, are inferior 
to those which are made on the lands of Rheims. The best 
red wines of Epernay are those of Mardeuil, at the gates of 
Epernay, those of Damery, Yertus, Monthelon, Cuis, Mnncy, 
Cliavost, Moussy, Yinay, and St. Martin d’Ablois. They fetch 
only middling prices, from forty to sixty francs the hectolitre. 


12 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


The wines of Fleury, Venteuil, Yauciennes, and Boursault, on 
the Marne, are only* to be classed as ordinary wines of the dis¬ 
trict. Those of (Euilly, Mareuil le Port, Leuvrigny, Crossy, 
Verneuil, and the canton of Dormans, rank as common wines 
from twenty-two to thirty francs on the spot. Among the 
lands where white wines are produced, the vineyard ot Pierry, 
in the neighborhood of Epernay, is most esteemed. It is dry, 
spirituous, and will keep longer than any of the other kinds. 
Varying from one hundred and fifty to twenty francs, the dif¬ 
ferences in the wines may be easily conjectured. 

At Epernay, where the black grape is most cultivated, there 
are lands which produce wine approaching that of Ay in 
delicacy, in the abundance of the saccharine principle, and in 
the fragrance of the bouquet. Though customarily arranged 
after the wine of Pierrry, it may fairly be classed on an equal¬ 
ity. The wines from the white grape of Cramant, Avize, 
Oger, and Menil, are characterised by their sweetness and 
liveliness, as well as by the lightness of their effervescence. 
To a still class, put into bottles when about ten or eleven 
months old, they give the name of ptisonmes of Champagne, 
much recommended by physicians as aperient and diuretic. 
The grounds of Chouilly, Cuis, Moussey, Vinay, St. Martin 
d’Ablois, and Grauve, as well as those of Monthelon, Mancy, 
and Molins, produce wine used in the fabrication of sparkling 
Champagne, being fit for that purpose alone. 

It is proper to explain that the wines are put into casks of 
one hundred and eighty litres each. But white wines of 
Champagne are not intended for consumption at these prices 
in the piece ; it is only to be understood of such wines as are 
thus preserved by the merchants at Epernay and Rheims, 
when, during the vintage, or for three months after, they wish 
to hold the stock of the growers, which it is not convenient at 
the moment for them to bottle, as it is the general custom 
among the wine makers to take upon themselves the expense 
and trouble of bottling. Thus they are enabled to dispose of 
a small quantity at once, if demanded, and can still wait to 
the end of the first year for ascertaining the whole of their 
stock. They suffer the less by breakage, leakage, and filling 
up of the bottles, and obtain a portion of the profit at once 
from the immediate sale of apart of their stock to the mer¬ 
chant. The price of a bottle of Champagne paid by the 
consumer, either in France or abroad, varies more according 
to the scarcity or abundance of the crop, and the agreement 
with the seller, than the difference of the quality at the place 
of growth. 

The wines of Champagne, whether still or effervescing, 



ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


13 


white, grey, or rose, whether solely of black or white grapes, 
or of both mingled, are generally in perfection the third year 
of bottling. The best wines, however, gain rather than lose 
in delicacy for ten, and even twenty years, and are often found 
good at the age of thirty or forty. 

It will not now be amiss to give a cursory view of the mode 
in which the effervescing wines of Champagne are made. By 
this means some idea may be formed of the care required in 
bringing them to a perfection, which has aided in placing them 
beyond all rivalry. 

The vine crop designed for the manufacture of white Cham¬ 
pagne is gathered with the greatest care possible. The grapes 
for the purest wines consist only of those from an approved 
species of vine. Every grape which has not acquired a per¬ 
fect maturity ; every rotten grape, or touched with the frost, 
or pricked, is rejected. In gathering, or in emptying the bas¬ 
kets, and in the carriage to the press, every motion that can 
injure the fruit is avoided, as well as the sun’s action. On 
arriving at the press, the baskets, or whatever the grapes are 
carried upon, are placed in the shade in a cool spot. When 
the quantity is sufficient for a pressing, they are heaped with 
as little motion as possible upon the press, and the bunches 
are very carefully arranged. 

The must is not immediately casked, but is placed in a vat, 
where it remains for six, ten, or fifteen hours, that the dregs 
may deposit. When it begins to ferment, it is immediately 
transferred to the cask. 

Perhaps there are none of the productions of the soil which 
require more care than the grape, to make it produce the deli¬ 
cious wines in perfection. In no country is the art of making 
wine so well understood as in France, and being a commodity 
which it is impossible to equal, except in a soil and tempera¬ 
ture of exactly the same character, it is improbable that coun¬ 
try will be excelled by any other in her staple product. An 
advantage of no slight moment, when compared to those of 
her manufactures which time may enable foreigners to equal, 
and in many cases to surpass. The following is an account of 
the process of bottling, and the treatment of the wines, of 
Champagne, before they are ready for the market. 

About Christmas, after the vintage, the fermentation being 
complete, the wine is racked. This is always done in dry 
weather, and, if possible, during frost. A month after it is 
racked a second time, and fined with isinglass. Before it is 
bottled it undergoes a third racking, and a second fining. 
There are some makers of wine who only fine it once after 
the second racking, and immediately bottle it, taking care that 


14 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


it lias been well fined in tlie cask. Others rack it twice, but 
fine it at each racking. The best wines are always able to 
bear three rackings and two finings ; and the benefit of such 
repetitions is found of the utmost importance afterwards in 
managing the wine when bottled. 

The wine which is designed to effervesce, and the ptisannes 
and wines of the third pressing, are racked and fined in March 
and April in the cellar, out of which they are 'only taken in 
bottles. That which is designed to be still wine is not bottled 
at Epernay until autumn, and is taken to the underground cel¬ 
lar in April or May. This is not the practice at Rheirns with 
the Sillery. It has been found there the most advantageous 
plan to bottle the wine in the month of January, though at 
the risk of its imbibing the sparkling quality. In this case, 
and forthwith after the first racking, which is called clebour- 
bac/e, it is fined and drawn off in ten or twelve days. Still 
wines are found by this means to be much improved in char¬ 
acter. 

The great complaint against Champagne wine has been, 
that it cannot be obtained of an uniform quality. This is 
principally owing to its being put into small casks. The wine 
in every cask will not be alike, as the minutest difference in 
the operation of preparing it for the market will alter the 
quality. To remedy this evil, so justly complained of, Mumm, 
Geisler and Co., at Rheirns, provided tuns holding twelve 
thousand litres each, which they imported from the Palatinate, 
and they found it a mode that fully obviated the evil J' 

The strength of the bottles and their uniform thickness, for 
the sparkling wines, are most carefully ascertained. Every 

* The following extract of a letter from Cologne t o the writer will more fully 
explain the experiment:—“I venture to submit the new mode which has been 
adopted by an establishment at Rheirns for getting wines o f ‘ an uniform quality, 
the want of which used to be a constant, and. I may add. a very just complaint. 
Most of the wine-merchants at Rheirns and Epernay put their wines into small 
casks, or pieces of 160 litres each, and the wine had to undergo in them all the 
various operations mentioned in jour first edition. It is very evident, then, that 
it is almost impossible to have an uniform wine 5 each cask must and will be 
different. Besides, wine never will develop itself so well in a small vessel as it 
will in a la'ge one. In order to r> m< dy this, it was thought a good plan to get 
some large Rheiugau tuns, of about 12.000 litres each, into which the new wines 
were put ; and it was surprising to see the difference. The wine not only dtvel- 
oped itself far better than it used to do in the smaller ca-ks, but the process of 
fermentation and all the other operations went off beyond expectation, and the 
great object to have a wine of an uniform quality was thus most satisfactorily ob¬ 
tained. This new mode has not been adopted generally yet; the great expense 
of the tuns, which must be got from the Palatinate, has deterrd others from 
adopting it; but the advantages are so great, that there is no doubt it will be 
very soon followed by every other house. Meanwhile, I believe that this is the 
only firm at Rheirns which makes use of those immense tuns, and which thus can 
be sure of having in all respects an uniform wine.’’ 



ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


15 


bottle with an air-bubble in the glass, or with too long or too 
narrow a neck, or with the least malformation—in short, with 
anything which may be supposed to affect the production or 
retention of the effervescence, is put by for the red wine. 
The bottles, too, are jingled together in pairs, one against the 
other, and those which crack, or break, are carried in account 
against the maker. 

Some idea of the quantity of effervescing wine made in the 
department of the Marne, in the arrondissement of Epernay 
alone, is obtained from the fact, that no less than thirty-three 
thousand hectolitres, or eight hundred and sixty-six thousand 
gallons, have been manufactured in one year. A third was 
purchased by the merchants of Rhiems, and at least as much 
more has been made in one year in this last arrondissement. 

In the month of March or April, after the wine designed 
for effervescence is made, it is put into bottle. Some begin as 
early as February, at the risk of exposing the wine to failure, 
or the bottles to more extended breakage in case they suc¬ 
ceed. Fifteen per cent, is a common loss. Sometimes it 
reaches much higher. 

The effervescence is owing to the carbonic acid gas, pro¬ 
duced in the process of fermentation. This gas being resisted 
in the fermentation of the white wine, scarcely begins to de¬ 
velop itself in the cask, but is very quickly reproduced in 
bottle. In this process the saccharine and tartarous principles 
are decomposed. If the latter principle predominate, the 
wine effervesces strongly, but is weak. If the saccharine 
principle be considerable, and the alcohol found in sufficient 
quantity to limit its decomposition, the quality is good. The 
wines clo not effervesce in uniform times. Some will do it 
after being in bottle fifteen days ; others will demand as many 
months. One wine will require a change of temperature, and 
must be brought from the underground celler to another on 
the surface ; a third will not exhibit the desired quality until 
August. One kind, when patience is exhausted, and the effer¬ 
vescence so long expected is given up, will give it all of a 
sudden. Another wine standing until the following year 
without this action, must then be mingled with the product of 
a new vineyard, which is known to abound in the effervescing 
principle, such as that of the white grapes of Avize. The 
effervescence of the Champagne wine, considered in all its 
bearings, is most uncertain and changeable, even in the hands 
of those best acquainted, through experience, with its manage¬ 
ment. The difference of the spot of growth ; the mixture ; 
the process, more or less careful, in the making ; the cashing 
and preservation in the wood ; the glass of the bottles ; the 





16 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


aspect of the cellars ; the number and direction of the air¬ 
holes ; the greater or less depth, and the soil in which the 
cellars are situated—all have a varied and often an inexplica¬ 
ble influence on the phenomena of effervescence. 

It will not be amiss to follow up the subject further in its 
details, in order that the reader may judge of the attention 
necessary in an operation, to a stranger, apparently the least 
important relative to the manufacture of this delicious wine. 

The bottles must be new, having been some days preceding 
rinsed twice in a large quantity of water and shotted. Five 
workmen are required to manage them in what is called the 
workshop, or atelier. 

The barrel heads are bored, and a little brass pipe inserted 
in them with a fine gauze strainer, to prevent the smallest 
substance from passing. The bottles are filled so as to allow 
about two inches* space between the wine and the cork. This 
space diminishes during the time the gas is forming; and in 
those bottles which burst, it appears that the void is filled 
up entirely by the expansion of the liquid. 

The workman whose duty it is to fill the bottles, passes 
them by his right side to the principal operator, who sits on 
a stool, having before him a little table, covered with sheet 
lead, and not higher than his knees. He takes the bottle, 
inspects the allowance left between the wine and the place 
the cork will occupy, regulates it very nicely, chooses a cork, 
moistens it, introduces it into the bottle, and strikes it forcibly 
two or three times with a wooden mallet, so smartly that it 
would almost be thought the bottle must be broken by the 
violence of the blows, but fracture is rare in the hands of an 
experienced workman, who has paid attention to placing his 
bottle solidly, and resting it with a perfectly even pressure 
upon its bottom. 

The bottle, thus corked, is passed again by the right hand 
to another workman, seated in the same manner as the fore¬ 
going, who crosses it with packthread, very strongly tied, and 
then hands it over to a fourth, who has a pincers and wire by 
him ; he wires it, twists and cuts the wire, and gives it to a 
youth, who places the bottles on their bottoms in the form of 
a regular parallelogram, so that they can be counted in a mo¬ 
ment. The daily labour for a workshop is calculated at eight 
casks, of one hundred and eighty litres each, or a drawing of 
sixteen or seventeen hundred bottles. M. Moet, of Epernay, 
who deals in the bottled wine, has constantly from five to six 
hundred thousand bottles in store, and sometimes no less than 
ten of his workshops are in full employ. 

The cellars of M. Moet, at Epernay, are in the limestone 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 17 

rocK, and of immense extent. The piles of bottles render it 
a labyrinth. They rise to the height of six feet. 

The bottles are arranged in heaps (cn tas) in the lower cel¬ 
lars. They are carried down by means of baskets, which 
enclose each twenty-five ozier cases for the bottles. Two 
workmen, by means of leather belts drawn through the han¬ 
dles, transport them. The heaps or piles runs along the wall 
of the cellar, most commonly for its entire length. Among 
the wholesale merchants slopes are prepared in cement for 
the piles, having gutters to carry off the wine from the broken 
bottles, and also reservoirs to collect it. 

The bottles are arranged horizontally, one against the other. 
The lowest row has the necks turned to the wall; and 
the bottles placed upon laths. The bottles thus situated 
indicate the vacant space left between the wine and the cork, 
just at the spot where the bend of the bottle takes place to 
form the neck, by which the diminution in the void space is 
easily seen. Small wedges secure the first range of bottles, 
and upon them a second range is placed the other way, or 
with the bottoms of the bottles towards the wall. All the 
rows are placed on laths, the corks of one row one way, 
and the other the reverse. The piles of bottles are thus ar¬ 
ranged nearly in the same manner as in English bins, but are 
carried to the height of five or six feet. This they call in 
France to heap them (mettre en tas ou entreiUer). 

The pile is very solid, and any of the bottles with the 
necks to the wall can be withdrawn at pleasure, by which 
means they can be examined, to observe if they are “ up,” 
as it is termed in England. If not, they must be got into 
that state, let the expense amount to what it may. A bottle 
drawn from the heap to examine if it be in a proper state, is 
held horizontally, when a deposition is observed, which the 
workmen call the griff e, or claw, from its branching appear¬ 
ance. The indication of a bottle’s breaking is the disappear¬ 
ance of the vacancy below the cork before spoken of, by the 
expansion of the carbonic acid gas. It is generally in July 
and August that this breakage happens, and that considerable 
loss ensues. In ordinary cases, indeed, from four to ten per 
cent, is the amount. Sometimes, however, it amounts to 
thirty and forty per cent. It is very remarkable, too, such is 
the uncertainty of the process, that of two piles in the same 
part of the cellar, of the very same wine, not a bottle shall be 
left of one, while the other remains without effervescence at 
all. A current of fresh air will frequently make the win© 
develop its effervescence furiously. The proprietor of the 
wines is every year placed in the alternative of suffering 





18 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


great loss by breakage, or is put to great expense in making 
wine effervesce that will not naturally develop itself. Of 
the two evils he prefers submitting to breakage from too great 
effervescence, rather than being put to the trouble and 
expense of correcting the inertness of the liquid. If the 
breakage be not more than eight or ten per cent., the owner 
does not trouble himself further about it. If it become more 
serious, he has the pile taken down, and the bottles placed up¬ 
right on their bottoms for a time, which is longer or shorter, 
as he judges most advisable. This makes the quality of one 
bottle of wine somewhat different from another. Sometimes 1 
he removes it into a deeper cellar, or finally uncorks it, to dis¬ 
engage the overabundant gas, and to re-establish the void un¬ 
der the cork. This last operation is naturally expensive. It 
happens that when the gas developes itself with furious rapid¬ 
ity, the wine is wasted in large quantities, and it is difficult to 
save any portion of it. Even that which is least deteriorated 
is of bad quality. The piles, as before observed, are longitud¬ 
inal, and are parallel to each other with a very small space be¬ 
tween each pile. The daily breakage, before it reaches its 
fullest extent, will be in one day perhaps five bottles, another 
ten, the next fifteen. Those piles which may have the small¬ 
est number broken, still fly day by day among the mass, and 
scatter their contents upon the sound bottles. Sometimes a 
fragment of a bottle is left, which contains a good proportion 
of its contents. In a short time this becomes acid from fer¬ 
mentation, and finally putrid ; during the continuance of the 
breakage, the broken bottles which lie higher in the pile min¬ 
gle their contents with what is spoiled, resting in the fragments 
beneath. The overflow runs together into gutters in the floor. 
When there are many of these accidents the air of the cellar 
becomes foul, and charged with new principles of fermenta¬ 
tion, which tend to increase the loss. Some merchants throw 
water over the piles of bottles two or three times a week dur¬ 
ing the period of breakage to correct the evil. The workmen* 
are obliged to enter the cellars with wire masks, to guard 
against the fragments of glass when the breakage is frequent,- 
as in the month of August, when the fragments are often pro¬ 
jected with considerable force. 

The breakage ceases in the month of September, and in Oc¬ 
tober they “ lift the pile/’ as they style it, which is done simply 
by taking the bottles down, one and one, putting aside the 
broken ones, and setting on their bottoms those which appear, 
in spite of the cork and sealing, which are entire, to have 
stirred a little, upon examining the vacant space in the neck.' 
Bottles are sometimes found in this state to have diminished 


ON CHAMPAGNE wine. 


19 


» 

in quantity to the amount of one-half by evaporation. This 
loss must be replaced. In the other bottles there is observed 
a deposition which it is necessary to remove. For this latter 
purpose, the bottles are first placed in an inclined position of 
about 2;> Q , and, without removing them, a shake is given to 
each twice or thrice a day, to detach the sediment. Planks, 
having holes in them for the necks of the bottles, are placed 
in the cellar to receive them, thus slopingly, three or four 
thousand together. For ten or fifteen days they are submit¬ 
ted to the before-mentioned agitation, which is managed by 
the workmen with some dexterity, so as to place all the depo¬ 
sition in the neck next to the cork, and leave the wine per¬ 
fectly limpid. 

The next operation is that of the degorgement, or cleansing 
out of the sediment, which is the most difficult and delicate, 
as it is the most curious, requiring great skill and precision in 
the handling, for by this time the wine has become so highly 
effervescent that in the hands of the unskillful and uninitiated 
it would either be made cloudy or every drop would suddenly 
quit the bottle. The practiced dcyoryeur , however, takes it 
carefully from its perpendicular position, and inclining it 
slightly, with its mouth towards the ground, divests it of the 
wire and twine, and, with an instrument resembling a brad¬ 
awl, quickly displaces the cork, which flies from its resting- 
place with a sharp report, carrying with it all the deposit, 
and a small portion of the wine ; seldom as much, however, 
as is necessary to give place for the liquor which is immedi¬ 
ately afterwards added. Up to this moment, the wine gener¬ 
ally, with the exception of such assistance as has already been 
mentioned, remains free from any artificial mixture, but on 
leaving the table of the degorgeur it passes at once into the 
hands of the mixer, who adds to each bottle, according to the 
country it is to be sent to, from eight to twenty-two per cent, 
of a liquor composed of crystallized sugar candy of the finest 
quality, dissolved in wine of a character especially intended 
for this use, and a certain per centage of very fine old Cham¬ 
pagne brandy, for which a fabulous price is paid. For Amer¬ 
ica the allowance of brandy is never over one per cent., 
while for England three and sometimes four is added. For 
the Parisian consumption one per cent, is also the quota, but 
for Russia and Germany a very spirituous wine is employed 
instead. As the addition of the liquor is greater than the 
escape of wine and deposit, the necessary quantity is gener¬ 
ally poured out into bottles which are slightly fortified, and 
soid to the Parisian restaurateurs, who readily retail it, under 
the name of “ Tisanne,” at four francs the bottle. In defence 



20 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


of this addition of sugar and spirits, it is alleged that it is em¬ 
ployed not only to give sweetness and body to the wine, but 
also that it is absolutely necessary for the purpose of destroy¬ 
ing certain deleterious'qualities appertaining to it in its natu¬ 
ral state, which, unchanged, would render it both disagree¬ 
able and unhealthy ; in other words, that ascertain quantity 
of sugar is required to correct the malic acid which forms a 
constituent element of the wine, which, if drank pure, would 
inevitably cause in the stomach of the imbiber thereof a sen¬ 
sation painfully reminding him of the “ belly-ache” of his 
boyhood. From the miser the bottle passes to the corker, 
who, with the aid of a powerful lever, reduces . the cork, 
which is previously soaked in wine, to about half its original 
size, and forces it into its place ; it is then secured by twine 
and wire, which gives it the knobby-looking head it possesses 
when released from its prison by the consumer j and finally, 
after being tin-foiled or leaded, as the case may be, and la¬ 
beled, it is packed away in cases or baskets to await orders 
for shipment. The average day’s work of a large establish¬ 
ment is one thousand bottles. 

The artificial state of the human constitution produced by 
the habits of civilized life is supposed to render the use of 
wine for some people a necessary stimulant during exposure 
to unusual fatigue. So far do some carry this notion in the 
upper ranks of society in Europe, as to follow the strange 
practice of allowing wine, and in considerable quantity, even 
to healthy young children. It is impossible to admit that the 
moderate use of wine, even though habitual, produces, except 
in certain habits, the evil effects on the bodily and mental 
powers, or eventually on the constitution, which some ascet¬ 
ics, reasoning from their own experience, would have the 
world imagine. In most cases the moderate use or entire 
avoidance of wine seems a matter of indifference, so far as 
the constitution is concerned. The habitual use of wine is 
safest or most salutary when the habit is united with regular 
exercise out of doors, and most hurtful when the occupation 
is sedentary and the mind much exerted. 

To the foregoing observations may be added the following 
testimonials to the beneficial use of pure wine: 

The late President Jefferson, in his Memoirs, says : “I 
rejoice, as a moralist, at the prospect of a reduction of the 
duties on wine by our national legislature. It is an error to 
view a tax on that liquor as merely a tax on the rich. It is a 
prohibition of its use to the middling classes of our citizens, 
and a condemnation of them to the poison of spirits, which is 
desolating their homes. No nation is drunken where wine is 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


21 


cheap ; and none sober where the dearness of wine substi¬ 
tutes ardent spirits as the common beverage.” 

Doctor Simmons well observes : “ Good wine is a cordial, a 
good cordial, a fine stomachic, and, taken at its proper season, 
invigorates the mind and body, and gives life an additional 
charm. There can be found no substitutes for the fermented 
liquors that can enable man to sustain the mental and bodily 
labor which the artificial habits of society so constantly de¬ 
mand. Temperance and moderation are virtues essential to 
our happiness ; but a total abstinence from the enjoyments 
which the bounteous hand of Nature has provided is as un¬ 
wise as it is ungrateful. If, on the one hand, disease and 
sorrow attend the abuse of vinous liquors, innocent gayety, 
additional strength and power of mind, and an increased ca¬ 
pability of encountering the ever-varying agitation of life, 
are amongst the many good results which spring from a well 
regulated diet in which the vinous product bears its just pro¬ 
portion and adaptation.” 

The late Doctor Adam Clarke states that “ Champagne, 
in moderate quantity, has a wondrous tendency to revive and 
invigorate the human being. Ardent spirits exhilarate, but 
they exhaust the strength ; and every dose leaves man the 
worse. Unadulterated wine, on the contrary, exhilarates and 
invigorates ; it makes him cheerful, and provides for the con¬ 
tinuance of that cheerfulness by strengthening the muscles 
and bracing the nerves. This is its use. Those who continue 
drinking till wine inflames them, abuse this mercy of God.” 

Tis pitj wine, which nature meant 
To man in kindness to present, 

And give him kindly to caress 
And cherish his frail happiness 
Of equal virtue to renew 
His weary mind and body too, 

Should (like the cider tree in Eden, 

Which grew 7 only to be forbidden; 

/ No sooner come to be enjoyed 
But th’ owner fatally destroyed.” 

Doctor Henderson, in speaking of Champagne, says, 
“ Among the brisk wines, those of Champagne, though not 
the strongest, may be considered as the best; and they are 
certainly the least noxious, even when drank in considerable 
quantity. They intoxicate very speedily, probably in conse¬ 
quence of the carbonic acid gas in which they abound, and 
the volatile state in which the alcohol is held ; and the ex¬ 
citement is of a more lively and agreeable character, and 
shorter duration, than that which is caused by any other spe¬ 
cies of wine, and the subsequent exhaustion less. Hence the 




22 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


moderate use of such wines has been found occasionally to 
assist the cure of hypochondriacal affections and other ner¬ 
vous diseases, where the application of an active and diffusi¬ 
ble stimulus was interdicted. They also possess marked diu¬ 
retic powers. The opinion which prevails that they are apt 
to occasion gout seems to be contradicted by the unfre¬ 
quency of that disorder in the province where they are made ; 
but they are generally admitted to be prejudicial to those 
habits in which that disorder has been already formed, espe¬ 
cially if it has originated from addiction to stronger liquors. 
With respect to this class of wines, however, it is to be 
observed, that they are too often drank in a raw state, when, 
of course, they must prove least wholesome ; and that, in 
consequence of the want of proper cellars, and other causes 
which accelerate their consumption, they are very rarely kept 
long enough to attain their perfect maturity. It is also 
worthy of notice that in order to preserve their sweetness 
and promote effervescence, the manufacturers of Champagne 
commonly add to each bottle a portion of syrup and cream of 
tartar; the highly frothing kinds receiving the largest quan¬ 
tity. Therefore, contrary to the prevailing opinion, when the 
wine sparkleth in the glass, and “ moveth itself aright,” it is 
most to be avoided, unless the attributes of age should coun¬ 
tervail all its noxious properties.” 

The general effects of wine, when used in moderation, are 
to stimulate the stomach, exhilarate the spirits, warm the 
habit, quicken the circulation, and promote perspiration ; and 
when taken in excess to produce intoxication. In many dis¬ 
eases it is universally admitted to be of important service, 
and in almost all cases of languor, and of great prostration of 
strength, is experienced to be a more grateful and efficacious 
cordial than can be furnished from the whole class of aro¬ 
matics. 

Amongst the Romans wine was considered as a medicine ; 
and was given that the soul might acquire modesty, and the 
body health and vigor ; and it was also believed that Bacchus 
had bestowed wine upon men as a remedy against the auster¬ 
ities of old age, that through this we might acquire a second 
youth, forget sorrow, and the manners of the mind be ren¬ 
dered softer, as iron is softened by the action of the fire. 

Wine to spirit comfort give? j 
Wine, 1o spirit chang’ed, still lives 
Strength to virtue to f-upply, 

And nerve the heart in agony.—A vicenna. 

The vine was no doubt cultivated in the earliest ages of 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


23 


the world. Moses, in sacred history, informs us that Noah 
was intoxicated with wine, probably not many years after he 
had quitted the ark. The immoderate use of this superior 
fluid, it is hoped, could not have contributed to the vices of 
the antediluvians, which the sacred historian ascribes to them 
as the cause of their being extirpated by the flood. 

The admired wisdom of Mahomet in after ages, so strongly 
manifested in making it an article of religious faith in the 
Alcoran that his followers or believers should not drink any 
wine, from finding them disobedient and ungovernable when 
intoxicated with it, must be allowed was a remarkable stroke 
of good policy in a man, who combined in himself the great 
and extraordinary offices of general, prophet, and law-giver, 
to enact under those circumstances, “ Thou shaft drink no 
wine f and though a precaution well calculated to secure 
good order and obedience in an army of religious fanatics, 
would be a precedent unworthy the imitation of rational and 
enlightened people. Were it not adhered to as an article of 
their faith, they would have been a more healthy race of peo¬ 
ple, and probably not subject to the plague, so much more 
fatal to them than to their neighbors, who indulge in the lib¬ 
eral use of this sanative, tonic, and antiseptic beverage. This 
should be a useful hint to all who come among them not to 
follow their example lest they should share in their fate. 

Ancient historians mention that the Asiatics first learned 
the art of cultivating the vine from the Egyptians; the Gre¬ 
cians from the Asiatics ; and the Romans from the Greeks. 
These two last nations certainly understood the art of culti¬ 
vating the vine, and the most judicious mode of preparing 
and managing their wines, and their philosophers and physi¬ 
cians, the healthful and medicinal application of them. 

Ferdusi tells us that Jemsheed was fond of grapes, and 
stored up for himself some jars of grape juice. After a while 
he went to seek for a refreshing draught; then fermentation 
was in progress, and he found his juice abominably nasty. A 
severe stomach-ache induced him to believe that the liquor 
had acquired, in some way, dangerous qualities, and therefore, 
to avoid accidents, he labeled each jar “ Poison.” More time 
elapsed, and then one of his wives, in trouble of soul, weary 
of life, resolved to put an end to her existence. Poison was 
handy, but a draught transformed her trouble into joy ; more 
of it stupefied, but did not kill her. That woman kept a 
secret; she alone exhausted all the jars. Jemsheed then 
found them to be empty. Explanations followed. The ex¬ 
periment was tried once more, and wine being so discov¬ 
ered was thereafter entitled u the delightful poison.” 


24 


ON CHAMPAGNE WINE. 


Of all the inestimable products of nature, there is probably 
none more numerous in its species, or diversified in its quali¬ 
ties than this divine plant. One of the greatest blessings 
bestowed on man by the great all-wise Creator of the uni¬ 
verse * the highest luxury in nature, both in the delicious 
quality of its fruit, as a food, and the exquisite delicacy of its 
wine, as a drink. 

God crowns with grapes the clustered vine, 

To ebeer man's heart, oppressed with care k 
Gives oil, that makes the face to shine, 

And cs«n, that wasted strength repair. 


JOHN MURPHY’S 



AMERICAN AND IMPORTED CHAMPAGNE, SPARKLING 

OHIO CATAWBA, ETC. 


The subscriber would respectfully call the attention of 
wholesale dealers to the above wines. The Champagne is 
made from the pure white wine which is grown in the Cham¬ 
pagne districts of France, and is selected and imported ex¬ 
pressly for this purpose, and the wine is prepared and 
charged with the pure carbonic gas, in precisely the same 
manner, and with the same machinery as is used in France. 
It is a well-known fact among wine merchants that Cham¬ 
pagne is an artificial wine, and that large quantities are ex¬ 
ported to this country that cannot compare in quality with 
that prepared by the subscriber. The undersigned has been 
engaged for the last twenty-five years in this city bottling 
wines, and was the first to convert still wines into Cham¬ 
pagne ; and has given it his constant study and attention for 
the last fifteen years, thereby bringing it to its present high 
state of perfection. In view of the increased demand for a 
medium article of Champagne, and the liberal patronage 
already received from the trade, he has been induced to invest 
a considerable amount of capital in the business, and in order 
to make his establishment more complete, has imported from 
France, at a heavy expense, all the necessary machinery, im¬ 
plements, etc., necessary for the successful prosecution ol the 
business on a large scale, and having ventured to secure the 






26 


WINE CIRCULAR. 


services of the former superintendent of an extensive estab¬ 
lishment at Epernay, in France, and also a large corps of 
competent workmen, the whole under the management of his 
son, C. J. Murphy, he believes himself fully justified in as¬ 
serting that he is prepared to furnish a wine almost equal to 
the better kinds of imported Champagne. I would here state 
that considerable spurious stuff has been, and is now being 
sold in New-York, under the name of Domestic and Imitation 
Champagne, by parties who understand little or nothing 
about the business, and many dealers have been thus de¬ 
ceived by purchasing this vile trash, which becomes thick 
and muddy soon after delivery, thereby injuring their trade, 
besides entailing considerable pecuniary loss. It is not to be 
presumed that parties who have had no experience in the art 
of wine making could successfully compete with one who has 
devoted a whole life-time (except during the interval of the 
Mexican war, in which campaign the subscriber took an active 
part) to this business. The greatest difficulty in the way of put- 
ting up Champagne in this climate heretofore has been from the 
fact of the wine not keeping brilliant in bottle , which has taken the 
subscriber years of patient investigation and labor to overcome , 
which he has at length accomplished. He is prepared to guar¬ 
antee the wines sold by his house to be the pure juice of the 
grape, and his process permits him to guarantee its perfect 
preservation, in every latitude, and for an almost indefi¬ 
nite period of time. (See chemist’s certificate.) As every 
bottle of wine is personally inspected by the manager before 
being packed, and all wines put up by him, if not approved 
of, can be returned, he paying the expense of transportation, 
etc., both ways. His reputation for the last twenty-five years 
shall be preserved. The wine is put up in genuine, bright 
baskets, with French labels—a perfect imitation of that im¬ 
ported, and so near alike in taste and quality that it is impossi¬ 
ble to detect the difference. 

The Catawba is grown in Ohio, and is put up in the same 
style as Longworth’s sparkling Catawba, and nearly the same 
in quality. 

For those who are prejudiced against wines put up in this 


WINE CIRCULAR. 27 

country, which he takes occasion here to say is without found¬ 
ation, he has imported a superior article of Champagne, in 
quarts and pints, which comes in cases of six and twelve 
dozen each, without labels or tin-foil, for the purpose of par¬ 
ties putting on their own labels and trade marks. 

In presenting this wine to the American public, I am con¬ 
fident that the discrimination of American connoisseurs, and 
the impartiality of the public, will justify me in the statement 
that I present a superior quality of wine, as pure and as 
elegant as any in the market, at a price placing it within the 
means of all who desire a perfect wine. The indisputable 
test is in the taste. This Champagne wine is made at 
one of the largest establishments in Champagne ; it is deli¬ 
cious, sparkling, refreshing, and brilliant, possessing a fruity 
richness found only in a real grape wine, having a fresh taste 
in the mouth, and not producing headache or feverish excite¬ 
ment when drank freely. I receive my shipments monthly, 
and offer the same at such low prices that cannot fail, 
when known, to give a decided preference over high priced 
wines. It can be shipped in bond to any point where there is 
a custom-house, and the duties paid by the parties ordering. 

Hotels and dealers ordering as many as twenty-five baskets 
can have a label such as they may select (the lithographic 
stone, which will be their own property, and can be kept in 
their possession with a strip around the neck of the hot' 
tie, with the parties’ names'on as sole importers of that par¬ 
ticular brand, which can be done at a small expense added to 
the cost of the wine. Hence it is obvious the object he has 
in view in importing wine without labels for the purpose of 
dealers having a Champagne that is equal to any of the 
popular brands for almost half the price. 

Dealers will at once see the folly of paying exorbitant 
prices for Champagne when a reliable article, that is equal in 
quality to any $12 or $14 wine that comes to this mar¬ 
ket can be had at such a low figure. Parties can assure 
themselves of the fact by sending for samples, which will be 
cheerfully and promptly sent to their address. It is a well- 
known fact among wine importers that the price of Cham- 


28 


WINE CIRCULAR. 


pagne depends more on the extent of the brand being known 
than upon its intrinsic value. 

Still white wines, converted into Champagne for the trade 
at a cost of $3 per basket, the subscriber furnishing every¬ 
thing necessary save the wine. A hogshead of sixty gallons 
of wine produces twenty baskets of Champagne. 


COPY OF CHEMIST'S CERTIFICATE. 



Analytical Laboratory 
18 Exchange Place, New Y< 


I have completed an analysis of a sample of American Champagne, bottled 
and furnished me by Mr. John Murphy, of 106 Water Street, New York. Its 
basisjs a fine quality of White French Wine, pure and free from adulteration, 
in fact i,the pure juice of the grape ; and from the evidently careful method 
which he adopts in preparing the Champagne from it, insures its brightness and 
preservation in any climate, equal to the best brands of French Wines, which 
it closely resembles in comparison. 


ISAIAH DECK, M. D., 

Analytical Chemist, SfC. 


New York, Sept. 25th, 1858. 





PRICES CURRENT. 


Five Baskets or more. 


AMERICAN CHAMPAGNE, qts., 12 bottles,.$7 00 

“ “ pts., 24 “ . 8 00 

“ “ half pts., 48 bottles,.10 00 

PIC-NIC CHAMPAGNE, 4 bottles, qts. to basket,... 3 00 

SPARKLING OHIO CATAWBA, cases, qts.,. 7 00 

“ “ “ “ pts.,. 8 00 


LESS TEN PER CENT. FOR CASH. 

IMPORTED CHAMPAGNE, Duty paid, qts., 

PIC-NIC STYLE, 4 qt. bottles,.. 

NET. 

Cost of putting into baskets, re-corking, labeling, and changing to 
any known brand, at the pleasure of the purchaser : 


QUARTS. 1 50 

PINTS. 2 00 

PIC-NIC, 4 bottles. 0 63 

“ pints. 1 00 


7 50 

8 50 
3 00 


Discount from above prices graduated according to number of baskets order¬ 
ed, and strict wholesale principles adopted. 

I place at your disposal all the samples you may require; and responsi¬ 
ble houses ordering Wine need not pay the amount of Bill until they are fully 
satisfied as to quality, Ac. 


PRINCIPAL DEPOT, 106 WATER STREET, NEW YORK. 












































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JOHN MURPHY, 



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NEAR WALL, 


BBW MBS. 



CHAMPAGNES DAMAGED BY UAKAGE, 

FLATNESS OR SBDIffiBST, 

Carefully Clarified, Recharged, Recorked, and made marketable, he having the 
only French Champagne Corking Machine, without exception, iu the city. 

Still Mints Conbcrtcb into Spnri.Iing. 

The facilities be commands in this line of business are unequaled. Orders 
generally solicited for Refining, Bottling, and putting into Salable Con¬ 
dition, every kind of 



PORTER, ALE, &c. 

"Wines and all other fermentable Ivquors in a state of fermentation readily 
Checked, Racked, and put in a sound condition. 

UNSOUND WINES CAREFULLY FORTIFIED AND RESTORED, 

Chemical Advice given on the Diseases of Wines. 

Experienced men sent out to Overhaul, Repack, and Band Champagne. 

All orders promptly attended to for the Clarification and Bottling of 
Wines, at private houses, in the city or vicinity. 

Highest cash price paid for all kinds of empty bottles. 

-++—- 


ESTABLISHED IN NEW YORK IN 1835. 


















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